Reviews for Small as an Elephant

Booklist Reviews 2011 June #1*Starred Review* This simply written but emotionally rich tale of an 11-year-old boy abandoned by his bipolar single mother will kindle profound responses in young readers. Waking up in a campground on Maine's Mount Desert Island to find his mother gone, Jack's initial worry is tempered by the knowledge that she has vanished before during episodes of what he calls her spinning times. But now she has left him with little more than his clothes and a few dollars in his pocket. Justifiably afraid that he will end up forcibly separated from his mother if he seeks any adult help, he sets out on foot for their Boston home. Jacobson credibly reconstructs his route and thought processes as his increasing physical exhaustion mirrors his inner turmoil, and he tries to stay out of sight while finding food and shelter over several days. The trek ends on a less believable but ultimately satisfying turn; Jack is finally caught after his fascination with elephants prompts him to change course in hopes of seeing Lydia, the only live elephant in Maine, and a youth worker who has been searching for him actually takes him for a visit before contacting the authorities. Though Jack's mother never does appear, she does exert a strong presence on the tale by being constantly on his mind and in his memories. Each chapter is introduced with a quote or fact about elephants, mirroring Jack's obsession with the animal, illuminating aspects of the boy's identity, and harmonizing with the events of his journey. A deeply perceptive look at the universal fear of abandonment, and how one child copes with a damaged parent. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

----------------------Horn Book Guide Reviews 2011 FallEleven-year-old Jack's life is turned upside down when his not-quite-right mother disappears during their Maine camping trip. He sets off on a series of desperate misadventures, not realizing that the whole state of Maine is searching for him. Jacobson has great success putting readers inside Jack's not-always-thinking-things-through mind. The happy yet realistic ending leaves him "light-headed with hope." Copyright 2011 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

----------------------Horn Book Magazine Reviews 2011 #2Jack Martel is obsessed with elephants. He knows everything about them. He knows that "even when in danger, a mother elephant would not leave her calf." But Jack's life is turned upside down when his own mother disappears during their camping trip on Maine's Mount Desert Island. What's an eleven-year-old boy to do? He has little money, home is too far away to walk, and the messages he leaves on his mother's cell phone go unanswered. He can't go to the police because he knows his mother is not quite right, with her manic, spinning, "pinwheel" behavior, and if he tells anyone she left him, he might end up in foster care. His instinct is to protect her and wait for her to come back, but when she doesn't return, Jack sets off on a series of desperate misadventures, sleeping in churches and stores and the backs of trucks. He thinks he's all alone in the world, not realizing that the whole state of Maine is searching for him. Jacobson has great success putting readers inside Jack's not-always-thinking-things-through mind, and by the end of the story, nicely tied together by the elephant theme, Jack comes to realize that he hadn't been[Tue Mar 3 13:58:43 2015] enhancedContent.pl: Wide character in print at E:\websites\aquabrowser\IMCPL\app\site\enhancedContent.pl line 249.
alone, that family and people he didn't even know were there for him in a "makeshift herd." The happy yet realistic ending leaves Jack (and readers) "light-headed with hope." dean Schneider Copyright 2011 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

----------------------Kirkus Reviews 2011 February #1

Eleven-year-old Jack is older than his years; he has to be. His mother, suffering from an unnamed mental disorder, has left him behind again. This time he is in a campground on Mount Desert Island in Maine, far from his Boston home. When he wakes up, there is no sign of his mother—no rental car, camping gear or food.ÃÂ Jack only has his cell phone (which his mother is not answering), $14, a tent and his love of elephants—a near-obsession that gives structure to his otherwise chaotic life. Because Jack is used to his mother's manic behavior, he quickly goes into survival mode, figuring out ways to get food and coming up with plans to get home to Boston while evading curious adults. Jack's mother has told him what will happen if he gets turned into the authorities: He will be put into foster care or, worse, sent to live with his maternal grandmother. While there are moments when Jack's journey relies on coincidence, and his ability to elude intervention stretches credibility slightly, Jacobson masterfully puts readers into Jack's mind—he loves and understands his mother, but sometimes his judgments are not always good, and readers understand. His love and knowledge of elephants both sustains him and pleasingly shapes the story arc. Jack's journey to a new kind of family is inspiring and never sappy.ÃÂ (Fiction. 10-14)

Copyright Kirkus 2011 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

----------------------School Library Journal Reviews 2011 April

Gr 5-8--Jack, 11, has a bit of an obsession with elephants. The day after he and his mother argue about whether or not they could stop to see an elephant named Lydia at an animal park in York, ME, as part of their vacation, Jack wakes up in his tent at a campground in Acadia National Park to find his Mom, her gear, and her car are gone. Jack is worried, but not totally surprised, as readers learn that this also happened when he was seven. That incident resulted in Jack being placed temporarily with his grandmother, whom his mother always warned him against. So to avoid a repeat of that fate, Jack goes on the lam, stealing an elephant figurine from a gift shop and vegetables from a garden, and arousing suspicion at the library in Bar Harbor. Reminiscent in plot, tone, and quality of Paula Fox's well-regarded Monkey Island (Orchard, 1991), the story certainly provides enough gritty details to make it clear that Jack is lucky to get along as well as he does, but avoids the worst predations that children alone in the world might confront. In the end Jack learns important lessons about his familial relationships and understands that his mother's unresolved mental health issues need not prevent him from moving forward with confidence.--Joel Shoemaker, formerly at South East Junior High School, Iowa City, IA

----------------------VOYA Reviews 2011 FebruaryJack Martell has led an emotionally unsettled life thanks to his mother who swings from loving and caring to neglectful. More than once, he has been left alone when his mother has disappeared. He has been warned not to tell anyone because he will be given to his grandmother who is "evil" and wants to take him from her. The one constant in his life are elephants; he has always been obsessed by them. For years his mother fed this obsession, but when Jack angers her on the way to Mount Desert Island, Maine, by asking to go see Lydia, the only elephant in the state, his mother disappears during their first night camping in Acadia National Park, leaving Jack with only his sleeping bag, backpack, and about $15. Jack tries to call his mother but only gets her voicemail. After his phone gets ruined, and he realizes that he will not be able to stay in the park, Jack packs his sleeping bag, the clothes he can fit into his backpack, and starts looking for his mother. For a boy who has been left to fend for himself before, Jack makes some jarringly childish decisions; his journey strains credulity with a too-pat ending, bringing the elephant theme full circle. Students interested in Maine or elephants may like the book, but it is not a title that will fly off the shelves.--Suanne B. Roush 3Q 3P M J Copyright 2011 Voya Reviews.